POLSC325: African Politics

Unit 5: Africa and International Relations

African international relations over the past century have been
characterized by a tumultuous interplay of internal and external forces
and events. Such forces and events, ranging from competition over
Africa’s natural resources to African civil wars, have shaped and
continue to shape the nature of international relations within Africa.
During the colonial period, European powers controlled African
international relations. When European power waned during World War II
and African nationalist movements emerged, control over African
international relations began to be restored to Africans. Decolonization
and independence for African states ostensibly completed this process.
However, newly independent African states experienced several challenges
in carving out a space for themselves in the modern state system.
African states entered a system wherein they had no voice. They had to
compete against established states and economic systems. Simultaneously,
African leaders turned to the international community for assistance.
The starting point for engaging the international system in the 1960s
was less than auspicious for independent Africa.

In this unit, you will explore several topics central to African
international relations. First, you will consider the historical
dimensions of the Cold War for its devastating manifestations in Africa.
Specifically, newly independent African states began to engage the
international community in an environment marked by suspicion and
competition, fueled by the Cold War between the superpowers (US, USSR,
and their respective allies). Africa became the site of proxy wars
between the superpowers, and increased competition for resources and
influence by external actors made Africa’s engagement with the
international community even more exigent. Second, you will study the
relationship between Africa and the United Nations, as this relationship
is important to any consideration of African international relations.
Third, you will study regional and sub-regional integration efforts in
Africa. Specifically, the creation of the Organization of African Unity
and its successor the African Union highlight the rationale for African
continent-wide cooperation and integration; the experiences related to
these intergovernmental organizations simultaneously illustrate the
difficulties associated with such endeavors. Finally, this unit will
encourage you to consider the nature of armed conflict in Africa and the
ways in which Africa and the international community has responded, and
should respond, to armed conflict.

Unit 5 Time Advisory
This unit should take you 21 hours to complete.

☐ Subunit 5.1: 2.25 hours

☐ Subunit 5:2: 6.25 hours☐ Sub-subunit 5.2.1: 0.75 hours

☐ Sub-subunit 5.2.2: 2.25 hours

☐ Sub-subunit 5.2.3: 3.25 hours

☐ Subunit 5:3: 6 hours☐ Sub-subunit 5.3.1: 4 hours

☐ Sub-subunit 5.3.2: 2 hours

☐ Subunit 5:4: 6.5 hours

Unit5 Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
- Describe the political environment in Africa during the Cold War.
- Explore the nature of humanitarian disasters that gave rise to UN
intervention in Africa.
- Analyze the relationship between the UN and Africa.
- List and explain the challenges that the United Nations has faced in
addressing conflicts and humanitarian situations in Africa.
- Describe the evolution of regional integration in Africa.

5.1 Africa and the Cold War
- Reading: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: Dr.
Benjamin Talton’s “The Challenge of Decolonization in Africa”

Link: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: Dr. Benjamin
Talton’s “[The Challenge of Decolonization in
Africa](http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-challenge-of-decolonization-africa.html)”
(HTML)
Instructions: Please click on the link above, and read the entire
essay by Dr. Talton. He discusses the ramifications of the timing of
African independence. For newly independent states, the Cold War
complicated the processes of nation building, power consolidation,
and policymaking. The United States and the Soviet Union did not
hesitate to meddle in African affairs. The Cold War impeded
decolonization.
This reading should take you approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to
complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read the linked material. Note that the Cold
War conflict between the United States and Soviet Union played out
in many parts of the developing world, including in Africa. Many
newly independent states sided with both powers for economic and
political reasons. Some of these states became a battle ground
for the superpowers; so-called proxy wars were fought in Angola,
Mozambique, and several other states.
This reading should take you approximately 45 minutes to
complete.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpages above.

Instructions: The above link takes you to a list of articles,
published by Germany’s Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Scroll down the
webpage until you see the title of the article. Click on ‘download
(.pdf)’ to access the reading. Before discussing the UN-Africa
relationship vis-à-vis peace operations, the author explores the
development of the relationship between the UN and Africa since the
inception of the UN. He argues that the relationship “has vacillated
between paternalism and partnership.” Pay attention to the
challenges faced by African states individually and collectively in
engaging the UN. What mechanisms have African states pursued to
‘raise their voices?’
This reading should take you approximately 45 minutes to
complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions:
Please click on the
link above, and read the entire article. The United
Nations has played a major role in both the economic and political
development of several African states. In this article, Helen Clark,
chief administrator of the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP), identifies the economic challenges African countries have
encountered and the steps the UN has taken in order to address them.
Do you believe that the UN has done enough to sufficiently address
African problems?

This reading should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpages above.

Instructions: Read this article, which explores Northern Africa’s
Millennium Development Goals. In 2000, the international community
agreed on these eight goals, ranging from universal education to
combating HIV/AIDS to environmental sustainability and determined
that these goals should be met by 2015. Ending extreme poverty is
one of the most important goals for Africa and one of the hardest to
achieve. For more up-to-date information on Africa’s progress,
please access the UN’s Millennium Development Goals website.

5.2.3 Humanitarian Intervention
- Reading: Institute for Security Studies: Monograph No. 36 –
Whither Peacekeeping in Africa?: Christopher Clapham’s “The United
Nations and Peacekeeping in Africa” and UN’s “Humanitarian and
Disaster Relief Assistance”
The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion
of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to
fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please
submit it here.

Instructions: Please click on the link above, and read the entire
article on the webpage, or you may download the PDF version by
clicking on the link ‘Download the Paper
humanitarianexchange026.pdf.’ The Rwandan genocide of 1994 witnessed
the slaughter of roughly one million people in the span of 100 days.
Despite knowledge about what was occurring in this small African
state, the international community chose not to act. The debate on
whether to get involved remained a debate rather than a call to
action. The international community made a conscientious decision
not to get involved in Rwanda and allowed the massacre to continue.
. This decision was made despite an obligation under international
law to intervene on humanitarian grounds. States chose to ignore
this mandate, ostensibly out of respect for state sovereignty. After
the Rwandan genocide, the UN Secretary-General challenged the
international community to reconcile the concepts of state
sovereignty and humanitarian intervention in order to prevent
similar situations from occurring in the future. Canada responded to
the challenge and formed the International Commission on
Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in 2000. This body of
experts released its report ‘The Responsibility to Protect’ in 2001,
which has become the cornerstone of international responses to
conflicts. The article above, written by a member of the ICISS,
outlines the debate.

This reading should take you approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Terms of Use: Please
respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpages
above.

Instructions: Click on the link above ; scroll down to the Vol.2
No. 2 edition of the Journal and then click on the title of the
article to access the pdf version. Dr. Adogamhe reviews the concept
of Pan-Africanism and explores the ways in which it has been
employed to meet specific needs within African political
discourses. Pay particular close attention to the discussion on the
OAU, AU, and NEPAD as well as the associated opportunities and
challenges.

This reading should take you approximately 3 hours to complete.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Reading: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook:
Paul Halsall’s version of “The Charter of the Organization of
African Unity (May 25 1963)” and the African Union’s “AU in a
Nutshell”

Instructions: Please click on the first link above, and read the
charter, focusing on the objectives of the Organization of African
Unity. Then, click on the second link above, and read the
information on the African Union, the OAU’s successor IGO. Do you
discern any differences in objectives and core principles?

These readings should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpages above.

Link: African Journal of Political Science and International
Relations: Mark Chingono and Steve Nakana’s[“The Challenges of
Regional Integration in Southern
Africa”](http://www.academicjournals.org/AJPSIR/contents/2009cont/Oct.htm)
(PDF)
Instructions: Please click on the link above, select the “Full
Article” link for “The Challenges of Regional Integration in
Southern Africa” to download the PDF file, and read the entire
article (13 pages). In addition to continent-wide organizations such
as the OAU, regional organizations such as the SADC were established
to facilitate trade and investment and reduce barriers between
member countries. This article presents some challenges that these
regional organizations have encountered.
This reading should take you approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to
complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpages above.

Reading: Southern African Development Community’s “About SADC” and
Economic Community of West African States’ “ECOWAS in Brief”
Link: Southern African Development Community’s “About
SADC” (HTML) and Economic
Community of West African States’ “ECOWAS in
Brief”
(HTML)

Instructions: Please click on the links above, and read the
overviews of the SADC and ECOWAS. On the Economic Community of West
African States’ website, make sure to click on the link for “The
Commission,” and read that webpage as well. Pay particular
attention to the objectives of the organizations and the ways in
which these organizations attempt to meet their goals.

These readings should take you approximately 30 minutes to
complete.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpages above.

5.4 Africa’s Multidimensional Armed Conflicts
- Reading: Foreign Policy Magazine: Jeffrey Gettleman’s “Africa's
Forever Wars - Why the Continent's Conflicts Never End” and
Institute for Security Studies: Monograph No. 36 – Whither
Peacekeeping in Africa?: Tom Lodge’s “Towards an Understanding of
Contemporary Armed Conflicts in Africa”
The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion
of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to
fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please
submit it here.

Instructions: The above link takes you to the table of contents of
an issue of the journal International Politics and Society; click on
the blue box in front of the article to access the pdf version of
it. Here, Ellis argues that Africa’s post-Cold War wars often began
during the Cold War and/or have historical roots in that era. He
goes on to examine the salient characteristics of contemporary
African armed conflicts.

This reading should take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Reading: United Nations Report of the Secretary-General: Kofi
Annan’s “The causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace
and Sustainable Development in Africa”
The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion
of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to
fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please
submit it here.